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2G Case: Speaker to decide on calling FM
Sukhbir Badal defends Bluestar memorial
land deals
Jaitley questions ministers defending Vadra
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Govt signs pact with Jan Satyagrahis
Karnataka gets second secretariat
Child marriage no solution to rape: UN agencies
IIT alumni want IIC-like centre, seek land from govt
Sending a porn message can land you in jail
ECI signs pact with UNDP on poll management
Suspected polio case tests negative
Bangaru gets bail in graft case
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2G Case: Speaker to decide on calling FM
New Delhi, October 11 The day witnessed high drama with BJP members boycotting and CPI member Gurudas Dasgupta storming out of the meeting in protest. The statement from Chacko came as the demand of the BJP to summon the Finance Minister got a major boost with Dasgupta writing to the JPC Chairman seeking to summon Chidambaram and the government ally Samajwadi Party saying that he must testify before the JPC studying the allocation of Spectrum during 1999 to 2009. The BSP, another government ally, is also said to be in favour of the Finance Minister being summoned to the JPC as a witness. This has so far been ruled out by Chacko, who belongs to the Congress. “This is the predicament of the Chairman of a parliamentary committee. Political parties try to score brownie points. They know very well, under the rules, we cannot call the PM or a minister,” Chacko said. With Chacko not relenting on the BJP’s demand, it members boycotted the meeting of the panel. They had also walked out of the last meeting in support of their demand that Chacko had refused to discuss. The six BJP members in the JPC are Yashwant Sinha, Jaswant Singh, Gopinath Munde, Harin Pathak, Ravi Shankar Prasad and Dharmendra Pradhan. Sinha has also written a strongly worded letter on behalf of the BJP members to Chacko to register his party’s protest. The party has alleged that Chacko is acting in an “autocratic” and “non-democratic” manner. CPI’s Dasgupta walked out of today’s meeting alleging that Congress member Shashi Tharoor intervened to help an official who was being questioned by him. It was in violation of the protocol, he said. “I walked out as defending a witness deposing before a committee is against the procedures. Tharoor has created a bad precedence,” Dasgupta said. He said while the then Additional Secretary in the Department of Economic Affairs Sindhushree Khullar was defending giving the “non-paper” to the Department of Telecommunications saying the approval of Director (Infrastructure) was there, Tharoor tried to shield her. The CPI leader has also written to Chacko demanding that the Finance Minister be called before the JPC as a witness. In the letter, Dasgupta has said that the Finance Minister will be able to explain his ministry’s “inability to prevent DoT from unilaterally going ahead with the allocation of 2G licences in spite of opposition from various quarters”. Dasgupta’s demand was supported by the SP and the BSP. CPM leader Sitaram Yechury made a similar demand in the September 18 meeting of the
JPC.
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Sukhbir Badal defends Bluestar memorial
Amritsar, October 11 Talking to the mediapersons after deliberating on Amritsar’s master plan, he said, “Thousands of people were killed in the Operation Bluestar, including women, kids and elderly. The memorial is being built in their memory. It will only be a place of worship. There will be no photographs inside it.” Replying to a query regarding a pilgrim approaching him with a complaint of snatching during his visit to the Golden Temple in the morning, he said he had issued instructions for launching a statewide campaign against petty crimes, including snatchings. The district police chiefs would personally monitor the campaign. He said all major cities of the state would be put under high-tech CCTV surveillance within six months to check activities of antisocial elements. He would not tolerate any laxity on law and order front and the SHO under whose command area a crime took place, would be held accountable. He said the DGP had been asked to launch a special drive against bad elements and 700 such persons had already been booked by the police. He said he had already sanctioned an urban police model and a separate Rs 52-crore rapid rural police patrolling system that would become operational in the next month. He declined to comment on the corruption case involving former state minister Gulzar Singh Ranike, saying the matter was sub judice. He said Amritsar was all set to don a new look with today’s meeting approving projects worth Rs 2,951 crore for the holy city and towns on its periphery. He said there would be no dearth of funds for these projects, which would be executed in the next three years.
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land
deals New Delhi, October 11 Minister of State for Parliamentary Affairs Rajeev Shukla targeted senior lawyer Prashant Bhushan and his family members over a piece of land acquired by them in Himachal Pradesh on a concession for an educational institution. The attack comes close on the heels of the allegations levelled by the activist-politicians against Robert Vadra over his business dealings with realty major DLF. The party and Congress ministers had rushed to defend Vadra and insulate Sonia Gandhi from the allegations but the move backfired as the party’s own rank and file was unhappy that the ministers had been fielded to defend a private citizen. The party later decided it would not get into a mudslinging duel with Kejriwal and Prashant Bhushan on the Vadra issue. It has instead adopted a calibrated strategy by launching a counter-offensive against them with the specific objective of insulating the Congress president and her daughter Priyanka from the latest onslaught. It was in line with this approach that Shukla demanded an inquiry into Bhushans’ land allotment, charging that the plot, which was carved out from tea garden land in Palampur, was given away by the BJP-led government in “gross violation of the rules and regulations”. Shukla told mediapersons today that when this issue was raised by Congress MLA Sudhir Sharma in the state Assembly, the Dhumal government had admitted that 4.68 hectares of land had been allotted to the Kumud Bhushan Education Society to run a school. Shukla claimed that the land was given to the society for a few lakh rupees, while the market value of the property was close to Rs 10 crore. “But no work has taken place on the land. It was given away to the society at a cheap rate. Is this not corruption?” said Shukla. The minister raised the issue after Bhushan and Kejriwal drew attention to the property acquired by Priyanka near Shimla. He said those making the allegations about this purchase should know that “all legal formalities had been completed” in the matter. Refuting these allegations, Prashant Bhushan and his father Shanti Bhushan maintained the purchase was above board. While Shukla kept up his attack, AICC general secretary and chairman of the Congress media department Janardan Dwivedi indirectly endorsed these allegations. “The party does not have any documents about this purchase. But there must be some basis to the charges as these have been made by a minister and a responsible person,” Dwivedi said.
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Jaitley questions ministers defending Vadra
HC seeks Centre's response on PIL The Centre was on Thursday asked by the Allahabad High Court to respond within three weeks on a petition seeking a probe into allegations levelled by Arvind Kejriwal against Robert Vadra. The Lucknow Bench of the HC granted the Centre three weeks time to file its preliminary objection regarding maintainability of a writ petition filed by social activist Nutan Thakur. — PTI New Delhi, October 11 Without naming Vadra, son-in-law of Congress president Sonia Gandhi, senior party leader Arun Jaitley said that while maintaining that politically connected people cannot be debarred from business. “However, the kind of entrepreneurship displayed in this case where windfall gains are monumental and investment minuscule, somebody needs to look into these transactions to determine whether they are bonafide business transactions or favours...The possibility of windfall gains emanating from a ‘political equity’ investment intended to reap ‘political dividends’ cannot be obviated’’. The article “Why is there negativism” posted on the party website was an intended reply to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh statement at the anti-corruption meet yesterday where he observed that a “mindless environment of negativism” was being created in the country which was not healthy for any parliamentary democracy. “Corruption in governance and public life appears to be overflowing. It has crossed the limits of tolerance. We have created several institutions which were perceived to be safeguards against corruption. They are either helpless spectators or have been seriously compromised”, Jaitley said adding that new rules were being laid down replace old conventions on how corruption has to be exposed. Each of the above instances, the BJP leader said establishes the existence of unfair and unacceptable transactions and that there is legitimate apprehension that institutions intended to be a watch-dog on these practices have been seriously compromised. In an apparent reference to the statements by Congress leaders that Arvind Kejriwal and his colleagues should approach the courts on the land deals issue, Jaitley said “Citizen groups are being told that the state will not take any action. Loyalty is more important than probity. The citizens must go to court and establish a case”. Emphasising that citizens are mere whistle-blowers who can bring these cases into public domain, the BJP leader argued that it is the responsibility of the state to investigate these cases and said if the state shirks from its responsibility, unconventional methodologies of exposure will overtake the existing public disclosures. “Banish corruption, investigate corruption cases honestly and punish the corrupt - that will create a more positive environment’’, was Jaitley’s prescription. |
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Britain ends Modi boycott
New Delhi, October 11 Britain’s Foreign Office Minister Hugo Swire has asked British High Commissioner to India James Bevan to visit Gujarat and meet Modi to discuss a wide range of issues of mutual interest. Modi, who is in the midst of a hectic election campaign, welcomed the development and tweeted: “Der aaye, durusta aaye (better late than never).” He said he was getting messages of joy from the Indian diaspora, especially Gujaratis in London and all over the world. “I have asked the British High Commissioner in New Delhi to visit Gujarat and meet the Chief Minister and other senior figures in the state. This will allow us to discuss a wide range of issues of mutual interest and explore opportunities for closer cooperation, in line with the British Government’s stated objective of improving bilateral relations with India,” Swire said in a statement posted on the high commission’s website. Emphasising that the UK had a broad range of interests in Gujarat, he said London wanted to secure justice for the families of the British nationals killed in 2002. At least three Britons were killed in
the riots. “We want to support human rights and good governance in the state. We also want to provide the best possible support for British nationals who live in, work in or visit Gujarat; and to the many Gujaratis who now make up one of the most successful and dynamic communities in the UK.” The British minister said his country would consider, in the light of the High Commissioner’s visit, means to take forward its relationship with Gujarat. Hitherto, British officials were not permitted to deal directly with Modi but there were contacts with senior bureaucrats in Gujarat, where British companies have invested. The British High Commission has a trade office in Ahmedabad. In recent years, Gujarat has attracted foreign investors in good numbers because of good infrastructure, power supply, cheap labour and stress-free environment.
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Govt signs pact with Jan Satyagrahis
Agra, October 11 The minister assured a cheering crowd of poor and landless assembled at a ground on the outskirts of Agra that the government would finalise the draft of the policy within the promised time frame. “If we are unable to present draft of the policy in six months, then Rajagopal has every right to restart his agitation,” he said. The government agreed to set up a task force for the purpose. It also promised to begin dialogue with states regarding the policy.
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Karnataka gets second secretariat
Bangalore, October 11 Karnataka Governor HR Bhardwaj, Chief Minister Jagadish Shettar, Union Ministers Mallikarjun Kharge, KH Muniyappa and M Veerappa Moily, and former CMs Dharam Singh, HD Kumaraswamy, BS Yeddyurappa and DV Sadanandagowda were among the dignitaries present on the occasion. Built at a revised cost of Rs 391 crore on a 127-acre sprawling land atop a hillock on the city's outskirts, the magnificent structure is a replica of the imposing Vidhana Soudha in Bangalore, which was constructed in 1956. The decision to build the second secretariat was taken by the Janata Dal-Secular (JD-S)-Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) coalition government in 2006 to provide administrative services to the people of 12 northern districts and hold the winter session of the state legislature there every year. Pranab Mukherjee said the northern districts of the state would now be much closer to governance and this would ensure balanced growth and development by removing social, economical and educational imbalances. Shettar said a long-felt dream of people of northern Karnataka had been fulfilled with the setting up the Suvarna Soudha at Belgaum. Later, the President addressed a joint session of the Karnataka legislature.
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Big B turns 70, fans flock to wish him
Mumbai, October 11 Local police and private security personnel struggled as gatecrashers and fans from various parts of the country strung garlands on the gate of Big B’s bungalow, Jalsa, and broke coconuts to wish him a long life. Many of the fans came with posters of several of his hit films. Some wore T-shirts featuring the actor as an angry young man, a persona he became synonymous with in the 1970s and 1980s. Bachchan, who waves out to his fans at 6 pm whenever he is in Mumbai, was driven out in a car today from where he waved to his admirers. Later in the day, the actor received a mobile diabetes van donated in his name to the Seven Hills Hospital by the British Government. Later, the actor thanked his fans on Twitter: “Birthdays are special for all... mine is no different... but would never be the same without your love and affection.” Bachchan's birthday celebrations began on Wednesday night with a gala bash organised by industrialist Anil Ambani and his wife Tina at their Reliance MediaWorks studio near Film City at Goregaon in suburban Mumbai. Top politicians sports personalities, fellow stars and industrialists were in attendance. Actor Shah Rukh Khan said he had good fun dancing to the superstar’s hit numbers with the man himself and Jaya Bachchan. Tomorrow, an exhibition of paintings of the actor by various artists such as MF Hussain, Akbar Padamsee, Anjolie Ela Menon, Satish Gujral, Badri Narayan, Gieve Patel, Manu Parekh, Paresh Maity, Jayasri Burman, Arzan Khambatta, Farhad Hussain, Satish Gupta, Sujata Bajaj, Praneet Soi and others would be organised in the city.
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Child marriage no solution to rape: UN agencies
The statement from the heads of four UN agencies — UN Population Fund, UNICEF, UN Women and UN Information Centre — came in the wake of former Haryana Chief Minister Om Prakash Chautala’s comment that girls should be married early to prevent rapes. In their letter to Women and Child Development Minister Krishna Tirath as part of first International Day of the Girl Child today, the UN agency heads wrote: “UN’s first International Day of the Girl Child is focusing on child marriage, which is a fundamental human rights violation. Child marriage is not a solution to protecting girls from sexual crimes, including rape. In fact, child marriage denies a girl of her childhood, disrupts her education, limits her opportunities, increases risk of violence, jeopardises her health and therefore constitutes an obstacle to the achievement of nearly every millennium development goal and the development of healthy communities.” The UN General Assembly adopted a resolution on December 19, 2011 to declare October 11 as “International Day of the Girl Child”, calling all member countries to recognise the rights of girls. But even today, 40 per cent of the world’s child marriages happen in India. “In eight states of the country, more than half of young girls are married before the age of 18,” said the statement.
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IIT alumni want IIC-like centre, seek land from govt
New Delhi, October 11 The IIC and the IHC promote a culture of entertainment, intellectual exchanges, information and engagement through workshops and seminars. IIT pass-outs say they need such a centre considering the fact that there is none where technical minds can gather and debate important issues in the interest of development. In their request to the HRD Ministry, the Pan IIT Alumni Association has said, “We request you to grant us five acre of land in the National Capital Territory Region to enable us to set up a centre like the IIC and India Habitat where ideas can be exchanged and intellectual gatherings promoted.”
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Sending a porn message can land you in jail
New Delhi, October 11 The Union Cabinet, at a meeting chaired by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh here today, approved amendments to the Indecent Representation of Women (Prohibition) Act (IRWA), 1986, which also proposes to slap hefty fines on persons found guilty of such acts. An official statement after the Cabinet meeting said the amendments broaden the scope of the law to cover the audio-visual media and material in electronic form. The Indecent Representation of Women (Prohibition) Act, 1986 (IRWA) focuses on indecent representation of women and brings under its ambit references that are derogatory to the dignity of women. It was enacted with the specific objective of prohibiting the indecent representation of women through advertisement, publication, writing, and painting or in any other manner. The amendments were necessitated as the current act covers only the print media. The amendments also enhance the amount of fine to be slapped against persons found guilty of such acts from Rs 2,000 to a minimum of Rs 50,000 going up to Rs 1 lakh for the first conviction. The amendments ensure that the imprisonment would not be less than two years which may extend to seven years. It also lays down a fine between Rs 1,00,000 and Rs 5,00,000 for second conviction. Police officers not below the rank of Inspectors are authorised to carry out search and seizure in addition to state and Central government officers authorised by the state or central government, the statement said. These amendments seek to ensure that more effective protection is provided against indecent representation of women by covering newer forms of communication like Internet, multimedia messaging, beyond the print and audio-visual media, it said. "This would aid in addressing the problem of increased objectification of women, thereby ensuring dignity of women," the release said. Technological revolution over the years has resulted in the development of newer forms of communication such as Internet and satellite based communication, multi-media messaging, cable television, which made it imperative to widen the scope of the law so as to cover such forms of media, on one hand, and to strengthen the existing safeguards to prevent indecent representation of women through any such form, the release said. Extensive consultations were held with stakeholders including lawyers and civil society organisations on the draft Bill, before its finalisation, it said.
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ECI signs pact with UNDP on poll management
New Delhi, October 11 The memorandum was signed by Akshay Rout, Director General, ECI, and Lise Grande, Resident Representative, UNDP, and UN Resident Coordinator, in the presence of Chief Election Commissioner of India VS Sampath, Election Commissioners H S Brahma and Dr Nasim Zaidi and UN Under Secretary-General and UNDP Associate Administrator Rebeca Grynspan. Sampath said transparency and strict enforcement had been the strength of the ECI, which had lent credibility to elections held in India. He underlined the commitment of the commission to extend support to the electoral process wherever required. Grynspan, who led the eight-member UNDP delegation, lauded the independent structure of the election commission, which, she said, was a source of stability. She thanked the commission for making its resources available to all democratic nations through the outreach of the UNDP.
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Suspected polio case tests negative
New Delhi, October 11 Removed from the list of polio endemic countries by the WHO this February following a polio-free period, India must report three consecutive polio free years to get WHO certification of polio eradication. Health authorities are, therefore, on high alert in respect of any suspected polio case after the last was reported from West Bengal in January 2011. The Darbhanga case turned out to be a false alarm after lab testing and this evening the WHO said it was negative.
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Bangaru gets bail in graft case
New Delhi, October 11 “The convict appellant (Bangaru) is enlarged on bail on furnishing of a personal and surety bond of Rs 50,000 each,” said Justice A K Pathak. Bangaru (72) was taken into custody on April 27 to serve a four-year imprisonment awarded by a special CBI court for taking Rs 1 lakh as bribe from some undercover journalists in 2001 to fix a fictitious defence deal to supply some equipment to the Indian Army. — PTI
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Thousands of people were killed in Operation Bluestar, including women, kids and elderly. The memorial is being built in their memory. It will only be a place of worship. There will be no photographs inside
it.
New Delhi, October 11